Railway-car



(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AZRO B. ALLEN, OF FARMINGTON, VIOWA.

RAILWAY-CAR SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 260,920, dated July 11, 1832..

- Application filed April 2, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it' may concern Be it known that I, AzRo B. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Farmington, in the county of Van Buren, in the State of Iowa, haveiuvented certain new and useful Improvementsin Railway-Gars, which are fully set forth in thefollowin g specicatiomreference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a freight-car having myimprovements. Fig. 2 is a section of the same on the line x x, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line y y, Fig. 2,extending for about halt' the length and half the breadth of the car. FigAc is a section .on the line z z in Fig. 2, extending for about half the height and half the length of the car. Fig. 5 is a detailed and enlarged section on the line o 'u in Fig. 2, showing the setting of the door in its 2o jamb. Fig. 6 is a detailed and enlarged section shown in the Letters Patent aforesaid.

To this end my invention consists in the several devices and combinations ot' devices, which will be fully described hereinafter, and definitely pointedout in the claims.

1n the drawings, A and A' denote respectively upper and lower sections of a iiexible door, arranged in the usual place in the side of afreight or baggage car. As shown in the drawings, the lower section, A', is not quite half as high as the doorway, the design being that its upper edge shall stand at the proper height l'orinclosin g a load of wheat or shelled Indian corn. The upper section, A, is-of about four-iifths the heightof the lower, the design being that when both sections are closed, as shown in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings, its upper edge shall stand at the proper height to inclose a load ot' oats or ear-corn. It is obvious that the number and proportions of the sections may be valicd to suit the varieties of cargo which the car is intendelto carry. Each section is composed of horizontal slats or strips a, of wood or other suitable material,arranged oneabove the other, each slat being saliently curved on its upper and re-entrantly on its lower edge, as shown in Fig. (i, so that the slats may form a close joint when arranged vertically and may turn one upon another, so as to slide under the roof ot the car when it becomes/*necessary to have the door wholly or partly' open. l Ot course the upper edge of the uppermost slat of the upper section and the lower edge ofthe lowest slat of the other need no such curvature. Through each slat, and at right angles to its length and thickness, are bored two or more holes, so as to make through the whole section a continuous passage completely encircled except at the ends. Through each passage extends a spring-wire or strip of flexible metal or cord, b, which may be fastened in any suitable way at the ends, and which thus holds the severalslats ot' the section firmly together, while its flexibility allows them to turn one upon another. As shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, the curvature on the edges ofthe slats does not extend quite to the outer side ot' the slat, both edges being at right angles to the height ot` the slat for alittle way in 5 thence the re-entrant curve 0f the lower edge corresponds exactly to the salient curve of the upper edge as far as the point where the wire passes through. There,however, the reentrant curvature ofthe lower edge becomes more gradual than the salient curvature ot' the upper, and so continues to the inner side. By reason of this peculiar forma tion, the slats, when arranged perpendicular] y on the wires, form close joints with each other on the outer side, and their lower edges cannot be pushed inward, while on the innerside there is room for them to turn a certain distance on each other in the direction requisite for passing from the wall to the roof, and vice versa. the slats of about three times the diameter (in the direction of their thickness) ot' the wire or other band, so that the band has room to bend in the slats, as well as between them. I thus avoid that breakage of the wire which l have I make the tubular passage through ward motion, but no other.

found to bc frequent where it tted the passage with any closeness. At the saine time I facilitate the turning of the slats on each other.

The door is set in grooves o, which are cut in thejambs C, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, and thus has a free upward and down- A continuation ot' each groove is formed on or in the corresponding timber, the course of the continuation being so arranged that the groove extending from one side ot' the car may pass just above or below that extending from the other. The length of each continuation is sufficient Vto allow the whole door to be stowed under the roof. Where the side of the car meets the roof the upper wall, c', of each groove is curved in a quadrant, as shown in the Letters Patent No. 78,188, already referred to but in order to give the slats more room to turn in, which experience has sho'wn to be necessary to the easy motion ot the doors, I make the lower wall, c2, of the groove of a considerably less curvature, as shown in Fig. 2 ofthe drawings. With this formation the door is readily slipped up and down to open or close.

An additional pair ot' grooves may be arranged out-side of the others on one4 r-both sides of the car, so as to admit ot' an outside door of height sufficient to close the doorway entirely; or the single door may be made with sections enough to serve the same purpose.

A catch, D, is pivoted on the inner side of the uppermost longitudinal timber ofthe carframe, as'shown in Fig. 2, its direction being toward the opposite side ofthe car. Itis provided with a heel at the pivoted end, which prevents it from falling much below ahorizontal position, but does not prevent it from being turned upward. The door, therefore, can be raised for the purpose ot' opening it without interference from the catch; but having been pushed back past the catch, it is prevented by the latter from coming down again until the catch is lifted.

I put at one or each end of the car a ilexible door or window, A2, ot' similar construction to the sections already described and having a motion in similar grooves, c, as shown in Fig. 4. Ordinarily a single section in this place will answer every purpose, and the catch 'already described may be dispensed with, inasmuch as an aperture in such aposition is very apt to bc carelessly left open when the train starts. If there is no catch, and the door is not settoo tightin its grooves, the jar caused by starting the train, or even by coupling, will shake the door down, so that the aperture will be closed and sparks and dust eX- eluded.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The slats a, shaped as described, arranged edge to edge, and provided with perl'orations at right angles to their length and thickness, arranged to form a continuous passage, in combination with the eXible bands b, extendingthrough thepassage,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a railway/car, the hinged catch D, arranged as described, in combination with the iexiblc sliding door, substantially as and for the purpose described.

AZRO B. ALLEN.

Vitnesses JN0. C. MACGREGOR, ALICE HoLLIsTER. 

